Ghana’s President, John Mahama has suspended the country’s Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo, pending an investigation into allegations made against her.
This marks the first time a sitting Chief Justice in Ghana has been suspended.
The action follows the filing of three undisclosed petitions calling for her permanent removal from office.
While the exact details of the allegations remain confidential, they reportedly cite grounds such as incompetence and misconduct — the only conditions under which a Chief Justice can be lawfully removed, due to the constitutional security of tenure they enjoy.
Ms. Torkornoo, who became Ghana’s third female Chief Justice in 2023 following her nomination by then-President Nana Akufo-Addo, has yet to publicly comment on the situation.
Critics, including Ghana’s former Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame, have condemned the suspension saying “I think it is a complete charade.
“It’s the biggest assault on the judiciary in the nation’s history — the greatest assault on the independence of the judiciary under our constitutional dispensation.”
Earlier this year, Ms. Torkornoo survived a similar removal attempt when former President Akufo-Addo dismissed a petition against her as “deficient,”
Initially, the three recent petitions were not made available to her — a move some legal experts argued violated her right to a fair hearing. The documents have since been shared with the Chief Justice, who has been allowed to respond privately in writing.
She is expected to appear before a five-member committee to provide further responses before a final decision is made on her potential removal.
